July 2017

Cover Story

Cover Story

Envoy: Islamabad Wants to Continue'Exceptional Relationship' with U.S.

Donald Trump has vacillated between calling Pakistan a nation of "betrayal and disrespect" to a "fantastic place of fantastic people." The president's malleable foreign policy views aside, Islamabad's envoy to the U.S., Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry, is steadfast in his belief that despite their many differences, Pakistan and the U.S. can maintain their "exceptional relationship" and even bring stability to the conflict-prone region. Read More

People of World Influence

Professor Wonders If Allies ShouldContinue to Trust U.S. Under Trump

Professor Monica Duffy Toft, director of the newly established Center for Strategic Studies at Tufts University, says Donald Trump's many foreign policy flip-flops and his "America first" agenda have left allies from Europe to Asia wondering where they fit into the president's hierarchy of priorities. Read More

Russia's Reluctant Star

Russian Ambassador Thrust intoPolitical Scandal Akin to Watergate

Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak has been a fiercely unapologetic, if affable, voice for the Kremlin's policies in the U.S. since 2008, but the low-key diplomat now finds himself thrust into the center of one of the worst political scandals to hit D.C. since Watergate. Read More

The Pentagon's Power

The Pros and Cons of Trump GivingThe Defense Department More Power

President Trump holds his generals in high esteem and has shown it by giving the Defense Department wide latitude over decision making, which has far-reaching implications for U.S. foreign policy in places ranging from Afghanistan to Yemen. Read More

All Roads Lead to Beijing

Beijing's Belt and Road InitiativeIs Ambitious, Maybe Too Ambitious

In 2013, China introduced the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a grand vision of regional connectivity through infrastructure projects with global reach. BRI is President Xi Jinping's signature foreign policy vision, aimed at increasing China's stature as a world leader. But it is also an ambitious undertaking with enormous risks and rewards. Read More

Voice for the Vulnerable

Refugees International's Schwartz ToAim Focus Back on Humanitarianism

In June, Refugees International — an independent advocacy group whose board has boasted the likes of George Soros and Queen Noor of Jordan — announced the appointment of its new president, Eric Schwartz, a seasoned diplomat with a three-decade career and a passion to put humanitarianism back on the world's radar. Read More

Global Vantage Point

Op-Ed: Choices Made in War CanLead to Lifetime of Invisible Wounds

"My guilt will never go away," former Marine and now veteran advocate Matthew Hoh explained. Somewhere in that sentence I found the voice of Lt. Nate Hooper, the main character in my new book, "Hooper's War: A Novel of World War II Japan." He was going to teach me about moral injury in war. Read More

ONLINE EXCLUSIVE: Global Vantage Point

Op-ed: (Satirical) Advice for TillersonAs He Reorganizes State Department

You have to feel sorry for Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. When God told him to accept the job, there was no explanation of what it entailed. Having no experience in government, and his time in uniform having ended after he made Eagle Scout, he is only able to draw on his experience in the energy business. Read More

Medical

Nearly 10 Million U.S. AdultsSuffer from Mental Illness

Nearly 10 million American adults have a serious mental illness, and a similar number have considered suicide during the past year, according to a new government report. Despite the growing number of Americans with mental health problems, about a third of those who need help aren't getting it, said researcher Dr. Beth Han. Read More